Church Looks to the New World

Church Looks to the New World

Catholics' Selection Of Pope Francis Eschews Tradition

he Roman Catholic Church's leaders elected their new pope Wednesday in a day that was rich in ritual but broke with tradition—placing the world's 1.2 billion Catholics under the direction of a Jesuit from the New World, both firsts in Christianity's 2,000-year history.
Argentina's Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 76-year-old archbishop of Buenos Aires, emerged on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica here Wednesday evening and was introduced as Pope Francis. A crowd of more than 100,000 pilgrims in the square below sounded cheers of "Viva il Papa" as he urged a "great fraternity" for the global church.

WSJ.COM